{Wattys Shortlist 2022}
A one night stand is turned inside out when two strangers discover their shared past.
After a skydiving excursion that ends in a whirlwind one night stand, Camilla writes off ever seeing her handsome instructor again. That...
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That night, I couldn't sleep.
I changed the sheets, washed our wine glasses, threw the half drank bottle away, and scrubbed the shower.
And after I had done all that, after I erased all traces of Camilla from my apartment, I still couldn't get her off my mind. So I laid in bed, tossing a hockey puck in the air and catching it until light from the rising sun filtered in through my bedroom window.
I wasn't used to girls being so casual. I was the one that left. I was the one that gave the, my life is really busy, speech. I maintained control over the situation.
That was the problem. It wasn't her. It was the circumstances.
Camilla wasn't different. She just played the game differently. One night with one girl wasn't going to change me.
Once the sun was up, I was out of bed. Stepping into a pair of workout shorts and running shoes, racing out the door.
I needed the sound of the tide and the roar of the wind to get my mind right.
As soon as my feet hit the hard pack beach sand, I fell into a familiar rhythm.
Pain is weakness leaving your body.
That's what I'd always been told. And there was a lot of pain I was working through right now.
I just needed to push past it. Run harder. Train smarter. Be stronger.
I just needed to keep going until I was through the dark tunnel I was caught in and finally reached the other side.
I ran down the beach until the coastline turned rocky, then I doubled back and ran towards downtown. Zig zagging past tourists and kids licking ice cream cones until I found my way back to my tiny apartment with just enough time to shower, shave, and throw my clothes into a duffle bag before the car scheduled to take me to the airport arrived.
Today was Easton's bachelor party, and I had a feeling it was going to be another sleepless night. My flight to New York was followed by a dinner hosted by Luis' family before all the wedding attendants took a limo to a Drag Show at their favorite gay bar.
West showed up later than the rest of us, missing dinner and barely making it into the limo. He was in a suit, thank fuck, or Easton would have lost his mind, but he looked like a soggy sack of shit.
I'd seen this look on guys before: after getting a Dear John letter on deployment, or after catching their girl cheating, or after a Facebook divorce message came in.
I tried my best to stay the fuck away from that look. But, somehow, it hurt just as much seeing it on my little brother.
I slid next to him in the limo and pushed a drink into his hand. "So, I take it you told her?"
